Hull FC hang on in nail-biting contest against Catalans

In what has been the closest and most entertaining Super League contest to date in 2014, Hull FC have hung on in a ripper of a contest against Catalan Dragons, holding off late surge by the French club to win 36-34.

There was one simple conversion in it in the end and after fighting back from being 16-12 down at half-time, Hull FC coach Lee Radford was thrilled to get the win and hold on.

“They have tried ending my career before it started,” Radford joked.

“I’m really pleased with the result but there are obviously some issues to fix up defensively.”

One influential player was Australian recruit Jordan Rankin who was involved in two tries and scored one himself, but for Radford, he knows there is work to do for his side.

“We didn’t have any football in the first half and I was confident if the penalty count levelled itself up and we got our share of possession, we would cause them problems and we did for the first 20 in the second half,” Radford said.

“For whatever reason, we capitulated in that last 20. It gives us something to work on on Monday, that’s for sure.

“Any week we’ll take the two points but we want to get some consistency in how we defend.

“I thought all the new boys did a real good job. Jordan is a running threat. He likes the football in his hand.”

What concerned Catalans coach Laurent Frayssinous, was the way his side capitulated to let Hull FC create mass opportunities to score.

“It would have been nice to come back with one point but there are a lot of things to talk about on Monday morning,” Frayssinous said.

“I am focused more on the performance than the scoreboard. That’s why I’m disappointed and frustrated. In the second half we went away from the game plan and defensively we made some soft and poor decisions.”

To make matters more complicated for the Dragons, forward Olivier Elima will come under scrutiny for a high-tackle and was thus placed on report.

Regarding the incident, the coaches said the following:

“My eyesight is the worst on the planet but, if he has gone in to roll his ankle, that’s a cowardly act and our boys have every entitlement to run in as they did. The game is tough enough. We don’t need incidents like that,” said Radford.